NEWS STORY
RNS-Communion-Catholics: For many lay Catholics, Communion shouldn’t be denied — even if you support abortion rights
(RNS) — As debate continues to unwind over whether to deny Communion to President Joe Biden and other Catholic politicians who support abortion rights, these efforts not only appear to clash with the pope himself, who has insisted the sacrament is “not a prize for the perfect,” but are arguably out of step with the views of most U.S. Catholics like Lily Nguyen-Ellis, a pro-life Catholic, who doesn’t believe elected leaders should be reprimanded for being pro-choice. By Alejandra Molina. 1,300 words. (category: a)
NEW STORY:
RNS-Baptists-Lindsay: Why grievance studies hoaxer and atheist James Lindsay wants to save Southern Baptists
(RNS) — The work of atheist author and grievance study hoaxer James Lindsay has become a key driver in the controversy over critical race theory in the Southern Baptist Convention. Lindsay claims any discussion of racism or sexism is a Trojan Horse, disguising the arrival of “wokeness” in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. By Bob Smietana. 1,100 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Akyol-Book: Mustafa Akyol argues for Islamic reform from within
(RNS) — Turkish American academic Mustafa Akyol argues in a provocative new book that Sunni Islamic theology must be reformed from within. Akyol who is a fellow of the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. and a New York Time’s columnist takes aim at apostasy laws in particular. Akyol was arrested in 2017 in Malaysia when he himself ran afoul of Malaysia’s apostasy laws. By Joseph Hammond. 900 words (category: a)